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This is the sixth of a series of sessions that the Philosophy Postgraduate Reading Group (PPRG), in conjunction with the Department of Philosophy, is organising this academic year 2015/16. The session will be led by Raisa Bartolo, a graduate in M.A. in Philosophy. 

For this seminar, Raisa Bartolo will be delivering a paper on Marsilius of Padua’s political philosophy. She will be focusing on his political and legal philosophy and their bearings on modern political theory by exploring concepts like popular sovereignty, state and justice through a contextual analysis. This paper is an extension and continuation of her master’s dissertation entitled 'Investigating the Influence of Marsilius of Padua's Defensor Pacis in the Development of Political Philosophy’. 

‘[O]ne should take note that if man is to live and live well, his actions must be done and done well…’ – DP I.5.3.

Marsilius of Padua was a 13th century political thinker. He published his main oeuvre The Defender of Peace in 1324. The treatise was one of the most influential political treatises of the time, and its contents still resonates today. Marsilius thought that peace, within the state, could only be established by challenging the legitimacy of the legislative and judicial authority of the papacy. Marsilius’ political theory not only anticipated the separation of powers between church and state but he also proposed a system of government based on what we now identify as democratic principles. 

For an introduction on Marsilius’ political theory:

Marsiglio of Padua, Cary J. Nederman in Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present, ed. by David Boucher and Paul Kelly (New York: Oxford University Press 2003) pp. 124-138.

Selected chapters from the Defensor Pacis Discourse I: 9, 10, 11, 12. Marsilius of Padua, The Defender of Peace, ed. and trans. by Annabel Brett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) pp.43-72.